Written by

K. Maxwell Greenwood

News Editor @KMaxGreenwood

Florida State University’s Board of Trustees recognized Friday the unusual nature of the university’s presidential search and began to clarify terms for the process, signaling that the hunt could be back on track.

“We all read the papers, the media and listen to the media, and we’ve taken some hits, no question about it,” said Board of Trustees Chair Allan Bense. “And I will take full responsibility for that. It’s no one’s fault but mine. I’d like to think that we listened, and we have extended the search: new search person, three people minimum. I think we’ve kind of righted the ship.”

Bense apologized for the criticism the search has received since it began more than three months ago, saying that the process will be fair and promising “a great new president” for the university.

The trustees unanimously approved a move by Bense that the university’s presidential search advisory committee forward at least three candidates for the position to the board, who ultimately chooses the university’s next president.

“We will end up recommending three,” said committee Chair and Trustee Ed Burr. “What those three choose to do then, we can’t make sure they come and show up. Given that set of circumstances, we’ll follow the directions of the Board of Trustees.”

The university has made a concerted effort to normalize the often-unusual search process in recent weeks, including hiring a new search consultant to lead the charge and establishing a timeline that places significant benchmarks for the search in September, when most faculty members and students are on campus.

But despite the board’s efforts to address the presidential search, the process has continued to receive criticism. Earlier this month, FSU’s Student Senate voted 22-8-1 to pass a resolution condemning the presidential search, calling for increased transparency in the search and demanding the search advisory committee to be restructured to include more students. The resolution also called for the committee to forward a minimum of three candidates to the board of trustees.

Bense, who sits on the advisory committee, also received direct criticism at the Friday meeting from students and faculty, who said the chairman’s ties to the libertarian James Madison Institute, a Tallahassee-based think tank that has received funding from the conservative Koch Brothers.

At the center of the criticism surrounding the presidential search has been the candidacy of powerful state Sen. John Thrasher, who has been a rumored frontrunner for the position since former FSU president Eric Barron announced his departure from the university in February.

Alberto Pimentel, of the executive search firm Storbeck/Pimentel & Associates, told students and faculty last week that the committee will not give any candidate preferential treatment and that all applicants for the position will be considered.“What we do for one, we’re going to do for all,” Pimentel said during a forum with students last week. “And when we evaluate the candidate, we’ll actually be evaluating the candidate, not the individual.